Sometimes Rico acts a
bit odd -- his mom calls him a "proddity" -- but he's GENIUS at
noticing little things nobody else does. Like a string of spaghetti stuck to
the sidewalk. Or the big buckteeth of that boy in the blue motorcycle helmet.
Or the strange behavior of the neighbors in his apartment building.

Oscar is a true
prodigy, with a high IQ and high anxieties to match. He's the one who wears the
blue helmet -- to protect his precious brain! Oscar may have a lot of book
smarts, but he needs Rico's help to face his biggest fears. And when other kids
mysteriously start going missing, it's up to the two friends to use their
noodles, keep track of the clues, and crack the case!

Funny, sweet, and just
the right amount of scary, THE SPAGHETTI DETECTIVES shows how two opposite,
seemingly mismatched kids can put their heads together and be better as a pair.

My thoughts:

I love children’s books, and I couldn’t resist
diving into Rico and Oskar’s adventures once I read the back cover. I LOVE
THESE KIDS! Especially Rico. And, of course, I love Andreas Steinhöfel for
creating them and making their storylines so cute and exciting.

Rico is an
11-year-old, “unusual” boy who lives with his mother in Berlin, on 99 Dieffe
street. What’s an unusual boy like, you say? Let me tell you: Rico needs to
walk in a straight line on the street without entering side streets, he can’t
tell left from right so he doesn’t go out much, he can’t remember everything
that people tell him, especially when he gets excited, bingo balls start
bouncing around in his head and therefore he gets confused.

Rico’s mother has
explained his situation to everyone in the building the day they moved into
their apartment and everyone is very helpful to him. They even allow him to
enter their apartments and look around. There is even a lady whom he watches
movies with on some evenings. The adventure begins when Rico finds a macaroni
piece on the street. He knocks on almost every door in the building, asking
whether what he found is a Rigatoni or something else. Serendipitously, he
meets Oskar, who’s super smart and walks around with a helmet because he’s
afraid anything might happen to him at any time.

In the meantime, there’s
a felon on the loose nicknamed Mister 2000: he kidnaps children and asks for a
ransom that’s below the “usual” limit, and is therefore known in the media and
in public as the “cheap kidnapper.” Of course, all families and children live
in fear of this guy. As poor Rico starts thinking of Oskar as a friend, Oskar
is kidnapped by this Mister 2000. His father can’t find the money and alerts the
cops, which leads to more chaos.

The way Rico observes
the world and tried to make sense of things through the commotion in his head
is a delight to read. Yes, it’s a children’s book, but all my guesses about
whom Mister 2000 could be turned out to be completely wrong in the end. This is
definitely a book that both children and adults can enjoy.